Brennan’s devotion to football began at six, watching her brother play in the Logan Cobras Under 8s Auskick team, which their father coached.

Kicking a football to herself from the sidelines, Brennan dreamed of joining the boys on the field.

Brennan’s dreams were answered when the team was down a player one week and, after kicking seven goals in her first game, she was allowed to stay on the team.

Despite being embraced by her male teammates and winning best and fairest, Brennan was not allowed to compete with boys beyond the Under 14s.

“No matter how good you were, you had to stop,” she said.

Though no longer allowed to play with boys, Brennan was not about to abandon her dream. After joining the Youth Girls team for one year, she quickly advanced to the open-age Women’s League.

Brennan’s career took off following a spontaneous decision to move to Melbourne four years ago to focus on football. She joined the Victorian Football League’s Darebin Falcons, currently placed first on the ladder, becoming their star forward.

‘Katie Brennan is a leader’

When Melbourne Football Club and the Western Bulldogs took women’s footy to a higher level in 2013 with a series of exhibition matches, Brennan was drafted by the Doggies.

She will play with them in the final exhibition match on September 3, before the launch of the national Women’s League next year.